Goodbye Eli

This morning Asiki came to us saying that one of the twins was in the hospital again. A few hours later, he returned to tell us that Eli had died. We are saddened of this news and are still trying to process it. There are mixed emotions running through us. This is not uncommon here for children to die before they are one yet is there something we could have done? We're thankful Eli was/is not Asiki's only child. As parents ourselves, it is never easy to watch someone lose a child. We are not clear what caused him to die, although, Asiki was saying he had "bad blood" again. It's possible that Eli had a problem that could not be handled here.

Our hearts are morning this loss...but know that Eli is no longer in pain. Pray with us for Asiki, his wife, and Elise (the other twin) as they mourn the loss of Eli. He would have turned one this month.

Pray For The Sick

We've been back in Kara for about two and a half weeks. During this time, it seems people we love are becoming sick. There are three people specifically we want to ask you to pray for:

• Antoinette, our houseworker, has been sick for almost two weeks. In the two years she has worked for us, I think she has missed work because of sickness three times. She went to the doctor who put her of medication for high blood pressure. Her daughter has been helping us at our house and I can tell she is concerned about her mother's health as well. Antoinette lost her husband years ago, if something happens to her, her three children will have no parents.
• Erik's wife, I don't know her name, is sick. I don't know anything other than Erik did not work today because he was taking her to the doctor.
  
• Eli and Elise, the twins, have been in the hospital. They were not eating. They are both doing better now, but I ask that you continue to pray for them to gain strength.
  

Through all of this we ask that you pray for our health and strength as well. Because life here is difficult physically, a simple headache can feel like an illness. We are thankful for each of our prayer warriors and praise God that you are in our lives.